A byproduct of the performance of some medical and surgical procedures is the generation of liquid and semi-solid waste. This waste includes body fluids, such as blood, and irrigating solution introduced to the body site at which the procedure is performed. This waste also includes bits of tissue and small pieces of the surgical material that may be present at the site. Ideally, the waste is collected upon generation so the waste neither visually obstructs nor fouls the surgical site nor becomes a biohazard in the operating room or other location at which the procedure is being performed.
A number of systems are available for use by surgical personnel for collecting this waste as it is generated. Generally, these units include a suction source, tubing that extends from the suction source and a containment unit between the tubing and the suction source. When the system is actuated, waste is drawn through the distal end of the tubing. The suction draws the waste through the tubing so that it flows into and is stored in the containment unit. One such system is Applicant's NEPTUNE surgical waste collection system. This particular system includes a mobile unit, called a rover, that includes a suction pump and two canisters. Tubing is connected to each canister through a removable manifold. Since the rover is mobile, the rover can be positioned close to the patient on whom the procedure is being performed. This reduces the extent to which the suction tubing, which invariably also functions as operating room clutter, is present around the surgical personnel. Once the procedure is completed, the rover is moved to a static unit called a docker. The docker has couplings that facilitate the essentially automated transfer of the waste collected in the rover to the sewage lines of the facility using the system. This reduces the extent to which operating room personnel are potentially exposed to the materials collected by the system. U.S. Pat. No. 7,621,898, issued 24 Nov. 2009, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, describes a number of features of this system.
One of these features is the intake manifold. The manifold is interface between the waste collection unit, the rover, and the sterile suction tubing that extends from the waste collection unit. This manifold includes a filter element that traps solid matter. This is desirable because these solids can potentially clog the downstream components of the system. Moreover, the manifold is formed from material that makes it possible to provide the manifold as a single use item. After use of the system, effort does not have to be spent sterilizing the manifold, with its narrow conduits, or its internal filter. Instead, personnel handling the used manifold only need to contact the outer surface of this component. This process further minimizes the extent to which these individuals potentially are exposed to the waste material. The Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 7,615,037 issued 10 Nov. 2009, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, provided a more detailed description of this type of manifold. Again ideally a new manifold is used with each procedure. Since was not used there is no possibility infectious material from a previous use of manifold can travel down to the suction tube and affect the patient.
The above system is useful for collecting waste collected in a medical/surgical procedure and temporarily storing the waste. The above system also provides a relatively easy means to transport the waste to a transfer station, the docker, for disposal.
The above-described system, like other systems for collecting medical/surgical waste, includes a display panel on which information regarding the operation of the system is presented. This information includes the level of the vacuum draw or the volume of waste that has been collected. For an individual performing a procedure to view this information, the individual must turn his/her away from the patient and towards the display. Having to perform these actions, mentally process the displayed information, and then return his/her head to the patient can interrupt the flow of the procedure.
Also, in some medical and surgical procedures there can be plural lines in the sterile field around the patient through which fluid is drawn into a waste collection unit. One or more of these lines may be lines through which liquid and semi-solid waste is drawn away from the patient. The rover disclosed in the incorporated by reference U.S. Pat. No. 7,621,898, is configured to draw suction through plural suction lines simultaneously such that the suction draw through the individual lines is one of two different suction levels. The rover of U.S. Pat. No. 7,621,898 is also able to do more than draw liquid and semi-solid waste away from the surgical site. This rover has a smoke evacuator. A smoke evacuator, as implied by its name, draws particulate laden air (smoke) away from the surgical site. This smoke is generated in some procedures when electrocautery tools are applied to tissue. The smoke evacuator filters the air to remove the particulates forming the smoke from the air stream prior to discharging the back into the space in which the procedure is being performed. The smoke evacuator reduces the buildup of these particulates as well as the noxious odors generated by the particulates.
An unintended consequence of providing plural tubes to draw away these liquid and gaseous state fluids is that it can be confusing for the personnel performing the procedure to determine which tube is connected to which waste evacuation component. A single tube could be connected to: a component of the system drawing a high vacuum; a component of the system drawing a low suction; or the smoke evacuator. Consequently there may be times during the performance the medical procedure in which the performance of the procedure is slowed so the personnel can verify that the tube being applied to draw away waste generated during the procedure is connected to the sub-assembly of the waste collection system configured to draw away the waste to which the tube is to be applied.